Practice Pointer: A Deal’s a Deal (Again)

Photo by Jonathan Rotondo-McCord

We have repeatedly warned Minneota litigators and litigants that courts really hate to undo settlements (most recently, here).

This lesson was taught again this week in Rocco v. Khan in which a neighbor’s property dispute was resolved in a settlement conference, put on the record at the Ramsey County District Court, and, after that, the defendant, Mr. Khan thought of another issue that he wanted resolved as part of the settlement.

The practice pointer here is NOT to avoid “buyer’s remorse,” which may or may not have happened in Mr. Kahn’s case. There is little one can do to avoid this common and unfortunate behavior. Rather, we note that Mr. Kahn was not personally present in the courtroom when the settlement was put on the record. That is a no-no.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals decision does not explain where Mr. Kahn was or why he was not present. Perhaps there was some emergency or other explanation that made his absence unavoidable. On the other hand, as a matter of “best practices” and, for lawyers, as part of their firms’ risk management, make sure your client is present (and cognizant) when you are settling his case.